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If you were a fan of the Cruiserweight Classic, you should be very happy today.
World Wrestling Entertainment announced this afternoon that they will debut a new weekly Cruiserweight series titled "205 Live" on Tuesdays at 10 PM Eastern on the WWE Network. The title of the series is a play off the weight limit for the CWC.
The series will debut on Tuesday 11/29. PWInsider.com has confirmed that the plan is for the series to broadcast live on the Network after Smackdown Live goes off the air on the USA Network. "Talking Smack" would follow the Cruiserweight series at 11 PM Eastern.
Unlike the CWC, which was taped at Full Sail Live, "205 Live" will be broadcast live from that week's Smackdown taping, which means that the Cruisers will be working both Raw and Smackdown tapings going forward, making them the only talents to do that on a weekly basis, post-brand split.
It is possible they could tape the Cruiser series before they broadcast Smackdown, but everything we have heard thus far is that the plan is to have a live Cruiser broadcast every week on the WWE Network, 52 weeks a year. The idea here is to create new, original content to make the Network an even more enticing overall package for subscribers. The weekly Cruiser series was among the potential additions to the Network that had its interest tested in recent fan surveys.
Mauro Ranallo and Corey Graves will be the announcers for the series.
WWE launched their Cruiserweight division over the summer with the extremely well received 10 episode Cruiserweight Classic series, which brought together talents from both within WWE NXT and from outside of the company for a 10 week single-elimination tournament that saw TJ Perkins become the first Cruiserweight champion. The series' focus on athletics and sports-oriented presentation quickly made it must see programming. A number of talents who worked for the CWC have since been signed to the company with several more international talents on the way. One would think this also opens the doors for additional Cruiser talents to be signed by the company.
The official WWE announcement reads:
205 LIVE PREMIERES ON WWE NETWORK ON NOVEMBER 29th
STAMFORD, Conn. — A one-hour, in-ring program called 205 Live, showcasing WWE’s new Cruiserweight division, will premiere Tuesday, Nov. 29, at 10 p.m. ET, exclusively on WWE Network. The live weekly show will be called by Mauro Ranallo, the voice of SmackDown LIVE, and Corey Graves, color commentator for Monday Night Raw.
Coming off the success of WWE Network’s recent Cruiserweight Classic tournament and the formation of the new Cruiserweight division, which airs exclusively on Monday Night Raw, 205 Live will feature Superstars that are 205 pounds and under, including: new WWE Cruiserweight Champion The Brian Kendrick, as well as TJ Perkins, Rich Swann, Noam Dar, HoHo Lun, Cedric Alexander, Lince Dorado, Gran Metallik, Tozawa, Jack Gallagher, Gurv Sihra and Harv Sihra.
“205 Live is a natural progression to showcase the depth of our roster,” said Paul “Triple H” Levesque, WWE Executive Vice President, Talent, Live Events & Creative. “With world-class talent such as Brian Kendrick, TJ Perkins, and Rich Swann, 205 Live will be a must-see program on WWE Network.”
“With the addition of 205 Live to an already robust programming schedule, WWE continues to enhance the value of WWE Network for our subscribers,” said Michelle Wilson, WWE Chief Revenue & Marketing Officer. “We take pride in listening to our fans and delivering even more live, premium content that they are asking for.”
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